[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 108 (Monday, August 8, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     CONSENSUS FOR CHANGE BROCHURE

                                 ______


                       HON. ESTEBAN EDWARD TORRES

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, August 8, 1994

  Mr. TORRES. Mr. Speaker, enclosed is a brochure entitled ``A 
Consensus for Change'' which I submit for the benefit of Members.

   A Consensus for Change--Final Report of the Global Policy Project


                           executive summary

       As issues of foreign economic policy come to the fore, 
     policy-makers and citizens alike ask how the quest for new 
     markets can be fulfilled at the same time as the challenges 
     of protecting the environment and providing for the well-
     being of the poor are met. Members of 50 UNA-USA Chapters, 
     Divisions, and affiliated organizations nationwide formed 
     community study panels, invited local experts to advise their 
     discussions, and, guided by a briefing book (The World 
     Economy in Transition), wrote community reports on these 
     issues This brochure summarizes recommendations put forward 
     in A Consensus for Change, the final report of the Global 
     Policy Project of the United Nations Association of the USA.
       While differences of opinion naturally emerged within and 
     among the groups participating in this project, the aim was 
     to develop varied suggestions for future action by U.S. and 
     U.N. policy-makers. Aided by an expert National Advisory 
     Panel, these citizens call for greater openness to business 
     and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) on the part of 
     multilateral development banks as well as U.N. policy forums 
     and programs. They call for creative partnerships to develop 
     environmentally sound technology, to meet the needs both of 
     small-scale businesses and of larger corporations, and to 
     foster public commitment to reform global trade and 
     industrial policies. On the eve of the U.N.'s fiftieth 
     anniversary, their recommendations present the end of one 
     study, and the beginning of future efforts in policy analysis 
     and public education on sustainable development--that is, 
     development that meets the needs of the present without 
     compromising those of future generations.
       UNA-USA wishes to acknowledge the continued support of the 
     John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Ford 
     Foundation.


                       Summary of Recommendations

       1. The Policy-making Framework: From Decisions to Dollars

       To increase the efficiency and enhance the impact of the 
     U.N.'s work in the economic and social spheres, the United 
     States and other member nations should strengthen and 
     streamline discussion of these issues in the U.N. General 
     Assembly and the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). 
     Rationalizing the division of labor among the U.N.'s various 
     development programs and specialized agencies--and reviewing 
     program mandates and funding for each--is critical. 
     Governments should make a greater commitment to funding U.N. 
     and other international development programs, and should 
     enlist the private sector in supporting human development 
     efforts. Members of nongovernmental organizations and 
     citizens' groups must be recognized as important players in 
     carrying these programs out.
       The U.S. and other U.N. member states should concentrate 
     efforts systemwide on building social safety nets and 
     encouraging the integration of sustainable development 
     principles into the economic development process--both in 
     industrial and in developing nations. In particular, member 
     states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and 
     Development (OECD) should ensure that aid reporting by the 
     OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is not divorced 
     from analysis and presentation of data on other economic 
     resource flows--such as trade, foreign direct investment, 
     debt payments, and employment remittances from workers 
     abroad--all of which affect the development process.

          2. Trade Trials and Tribulations--Triumphs at Hand?

       Member states of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 
     (GATT) should ensure that the soon to be established World 
     Trade Organization (WTO) sustain the process of creating a 
     more open trade and investment environment. It should do so 
     by developing strong functional linkages to the World Bank 
     and the International Monetary Fund, and by improving ties 
     with agencies and programs of the U.N. system engaged in 
     trade and development activities, such as the U.N. Conference 
     on Trade and Development, the International Labour 
     Organisation, the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development, 
     and the U.N. Environment Programme. The role and 
     effectiveness of such institutions in this area will depend 
     on their credibility and capability in pursuing sound policy 
     goals. Within the new WTO, the U.S. and other GATT members 
     should pursue changes in both the GATT's general rules of 
     procedure and in dispute-resolution procedures to facilitate 
     input and participation, where appropriate, by relevant and 
     competent nongovernmental and other experts. Members of the 
     GATT should make WTO resolutions (as well as the rationale 
     for disputed decisions) readily available to the public.
       To ensure that environmental and labor concerns are 
     properly addressed in future trade negotiations, GATT members 
     should support the work of the GATT's Committee on Trade and 
     the Environment--particularly efforts by its members to 
     integrate trade liberalization and sustainable development 
     objectives. The existing body of international environmental 
     law, evolving standards, and agreements should be considered 
     as environment-related trade disputes are debated and 
     decided, including: the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate 
     Change and the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity (both 
     signed by the United States, the latter still unratified), 
     Agenda 21, and the decisions of the Commission on Sustainable 
     Development. Similarly, as GATT members consider ways to 
     incorporate worker rights and labor standards into the 
     program of work of the WTO, both the ILO and the OECD should 
     continue their respective efforts at standard-setting and 
     review--focusing in particular on standards covering forced 
     labor, freedom of association, and equality of treatment 
     among workers.
       Members of the GATT should continue to employ the existing 
     General System of Preferences (GSP) to allow poor nations 
     access to international markets--while leaders in government 
     and the private sector should support renewed efforts to 
     eliminate corruption in the public and private sectors of 
     countries, rich and poor. In this regard, the U.S. should 
     lead member states of the United Nations in supporting a 
     draft U.N. ``International Agreement on Illicit Payments,'' 
     as well as other anticorruption standards and recommendations 
     put forward by the OECD and by relevant NGOs.

    3. Making Change: Reforming Development and Finance Institutions

       As a major donor to the World Bank, the U.S. should sustain 
     its support for these institutions. It should also lead 
     efforts to enhance transparency in the Bank's operating 
     procedures and to ensure representation of nongovernmental 
     and private-sector interests on its newly established 
     complaint review panel. Likewise, the U.S. should encourage 
     the IMF to institute procedures for disclosing select 
     documents, for involving experts from the private and 
     nongovernmental sectors in evaluation of social and 
     environmental impacts of its work, and for reviewing 
     complaints regarding the immediate and long-term effects of 
     loan policies on recipients.
       Within the U.N. proper, the U.S. should lead other member 
     states in encouraging UNDP to emphasize rigorous development 
     analysis as its first priority; at the country-program level, 
     UNDP should seek a strengthened interagency coordinating 
     role. Technical support efforts should center on capacity-
     building in high impact areas (such as programs involving 
     women), as well as enhanced coordination with humanitarian 
     assistance programs. Similarly, UNICEF should focus on 
     addressing the most critical needs of poor children and 
     mothers--its area of comparative advantage--and should 
     increase efforts to bolster the work of national-level 
     counterpart agencies in key sectors, such as health and 
     education.
       UNEP should develop means to involve representatives of 
     government, business, labor, and nongovernmental groups in 
     defining international environmental standards and in 
     building the political and public support to translate those 
     standards into practice. Member states should thus consider 
     the creation of a discussion forum within UNEP to involve 
     these groups--along with enhanced funding for UNEP, targeted 
     to support efforts at compliance with international standards 
     on the part of poor nations.

     4. Strategic Signposts on the Path to Sustainable Development

       Collaboration among official development institutions, 
     private-sector groups, and NGOs will only occur if the time 
     and resources each invests in joint ventures can be 
     demonstrated to yield concrete benefits. The challenge is to 
     make economic development both sustainable and cost-
     effective; full-cost accounting procedures offer one way to 
     demonstrate the complete costs and benefits of varying 
     approaches. With the release of a comprehensive, revised 
     System of National Accounts (SNA) in early 1993--the result 
     of collaborative work by the World Bank, the OECD, and key 
     U.N. agencies--policy-makers worldwide have gained a 
     significant tool. The U.S. should encourage all member states 
     to implement the SNA (and, with it, ``satellite accounts'' on 
     environment and gender). Private corporations should be 
     encouraged to revise annual accounting practices and to 
     evaluate production decisions to reflect more fully the 
     environmental and social costs of economic activity.
       At the same time, U.N. member states should support efforts 
     to promote the development and transfer of environmentally 
     should technology--with special emphasis on a new role for 
     the private sector in this form of development cooperation. 
     In this connection, the World Bank and UNDP should 
     collaborate with key private-sector financial institutions 
     and nongovernmental organizations to create financing 
     vehicles for small-business and microenterprise development 
     efforts--such as a revolving loan fund within a restructured 
     Global Environmental Facility (GEF). Government 
     representatives to the GEF's Universal Assembly and Executive 
     Council, along with official and nongovernmental 
     representatives to the GEF's Participants Assembly, should 
     develop means for formalizing NGO accreditation procedures to 
     the Facility.
       The U.S. and other donors to the multilateral development 
     and finance institutions should encourage the development of 
     innovative means to involve NGOs in policy discussions and 
     program work, and should undertake similar efforts within 
     their individual bilateral development and finance 
     institutions. In the context of ongoing review of the rules 
     for participation by NGOs in ECOSOC debates, the U.S. should 
     lead member states in encouraging broader participation by 
     NGOs--and should use the Commission on Sustainable 
     Development and other public forums, including U.N. 
     conferences, to focus the attention of consumers from wealthy 
     and developing nations alike on the shared challenge of 
     developing sustainable consumption patterns.

  United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA)

       The United Nations Association of the United States of 
     America is a national organization dedicated to strengthening 
     the U.N. system and to enhancing U.S. participation in that 
     system.
       The Association provides information and educational 
     services on the work of the U.N. and on other global issues 
     for students, scholars, Congress, business leaders, and the 
     media.

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